When we have a job that requires a carpenter we give the people a discount because they have to supply one. We are not carpenters, but we do know a lot about it. There was a miscommunication with the person on this job. Her neighbor came over to see what was going on. She told him the situation, his eyes lit up and he says “I’ll do it!” I lent him my suit and he went to work on the column. Most times the bees are docile and don’t come out till we start removing the comb, not this time! They started buzzing us even before we got close. After he pulled open the column I asked him what he did for a living. “I’m a doctor,” he told me. He was thrilled to help and work so closely with bees. He had never done anything like that before.
Tag Archives: removal
I didn’t see them till my daughter said something
By Jove I Think She’s Got It
We got a call about bees in the storage seat of a gazebo. My 8 and 10 year old granddaughters went with me to help. My 8 year old looked for the bees, when we found them we moved the comb to a table. I cut the comb out and my 10 year rubber banded them in. Both of them have been out with me a bunch of times. I think my 10 year old has got the idea of how to do it. My 8 year old is still working on it. The owner of the property wants a hive on her property.
Sky Crane
Video
Not an exact science
Sometimes bees go in somewhere and walk to the hive. This was the case with this hive. They walked into a hole on the side of the house. I used my thermal scanner and thought I had found them. The condo’s carpenter removed some of the siding and trim. We couldn’t find them. So my wife tried the porch roof and there they were! We had the carpenter cut a hole and we removed the hive and bees. Knowing exactly where they are is not an exact science. We use what tools we have and the knowledge we have gathered over the years.
They were ready
The roof moved!
When the woman called she said they couldn’t get in and out of the door. When I got there I saw the bees were so high up I told them I couldn’t help them. The manager said I could ride up on the forklift to the roof and get them for there. My granddaughter and I went up. As soon as I stepped on the roof it started bucking and rolling just like a ship in rough seas. My granddaughter said “think happy thoughts grandpa.” I don’t like heights to put it lightly. I had to have my wife tell me where the bees were since I couldn’t see them. We made a good team. We left the nuc on the roof to be sure we got most of the bees and picked it up the next day.
At least we saved the babies
He had bees in the wall of his garage. This was a big hive, 3 feet long and 16 inches wide. We cut the wall open and removed the comb. This was an easy removal and our friend helped. When we opened the wall we expected a lot of bees, but there were very few. There was lots of brood though. We put the brood in some of our other hives which made them stronger.
Sometimes they stay, sometimes they don’t
We had a swarm call. I grabbed my granddaughter and we went to the house. They told us it was in a tree over the carport near the front steps. I walked up the steps and didn’t see them. My granddaughter pointed to the tree and said, ‘they are right there.” She went to the truck, got the stuff and started to get the swarm. She was a bit too short to reach it so I helped her. We got them home on a Wednesday evening, on Sunday afternoon they swarmed and left the nuc. You win some, you lose some.